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Harmless ghosts on a staircase.

Last night my best friends and I sipped libations around a cozy fire in the basement of a bar. We had woken up yesterday, surprised by the temperatures in the near 70s. By the time we all left work and arrived at the bar, after several rainstorms, it was in the 30s. The fire worked wonders to warm us!

So did their company. Kelly, Amber, Erica, Jiscilla and I discussed many a topic... they included:

• Future Friendsgiving date and what we'll each be bringing
• Work
• The Paramore show we're going to next week
• Mom weddings
• Maybe a wedding, maybe not a wedding
• Teens with babies, getting married
• Teens getting divorced
• Something is clearly wrong with Doug Hutchison
• Carrie Mathison and Olivia Pope
• People who think they are in an online relationship with Lil Bow Wow
• James Deen
• Rich people who buy $400,000 worth of lingerie
• Rich people who buy lots of lingerie and then leave it at the store for over 10 years
• Murder (probably our most frequent topic always laced with "Dateline" and "20/20" shout-outs)
• Specifically, the murder featured in the documentary The Staircase
• Murders by ghosts
• How many murders in the world are actually by ghosts
• The lesser known defense "a ghost did it"
• Why don't more people believe in ghosts?????

That's just a taste of how our evenings together usually go.

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Afterwards, Amber came over for our weekly viewing of Scandal. We talked more about murders while I prepared her a lavender lemon gin fizz. A few weeks ago when I was at my parent's home, I clipped some of my mom's lavender bush to save a few sprigs before leaving. I proceeded to take two mason jars, fill them with gin, and then split the sprigs between them. After sealing them tight and leaving them in a cool, dark place for a few weeks, I now had: lavender-infused gin.

It smells a lot like lavender moonshine when you first strain it, but it's delicious with some lemon and perrier mixed in. I love the taste of lavender, and so it was sipping these cocktails that we continued our discussion. Then we realized it was nearing midnight and we still hadn't watch Scandal, but we had a damn good time just sitting, sipping, and discussing life. That's why we're best friends. The time just evaporates as the conversation continues.

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Tonight I hope to get in a couple of good hours of S reading after work. Later I'll be celebrating my good friend Justin's 30th birthday...and hopefully not sneaking away early to read more of S like a loser!

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My friend Adam (and his friend) designed a t-shirt! It's only available until midnight tonight! CHECK IT OUT FOR ULTIMATE NERDERY AND FUN!!

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Happy weekend!

Picking up what's left of me to sing together.

There's a foot of snow outside...and I'm at work!

My commute to the subway this morning:

Yes, they also left a dumpster in my way to make this morning even more fun! It's better than the slush of yesterday, however. And there was a lot less people on the train, considering that most people got a snow day!

I'm looking forward to my final weekend home before Japan. Tonight I plan on near-completing my packing. Tomorrow I'm getting a mani/pedi with Amber & Erica at our fave place in order to prepare my "jet-setter" look for next week (could Mint Candy Apple make another appearance?!) and then I'm seeing Shutter Island! I love a good suspense thriller - they seem rare these days (too much shock horror) and Scorcese is a master!

On Sunday, I plan to celebrate the birth of one of my best friends, Kells, and eat a lot. Then any last-minute errands I need for the trip! I am a checklist maniac. CHECK! CHECK! CHECK!

Before I leave I will be posting my thoughts on the Academy Awards nominations - who will win/who should win and whatnot. Since I'll be out of the country! Wakuwaku suru!

Jesse's in Adelaide today (or should I say tomorrow?) and we got to video chat this morning before work (and before his sleep!). What's so weird is that Adelaide is half an hour off from each time zone - I didn't know such places existed. Right now it's 11am. In Adelaide it's 2:30am (tomorrow!). Anyway, the world is mysterious and I feel rather lucky to be able to talk to him so often when he's literally on the other side of the earth. In a few more days, we'll be reunited again. It will have been a MONTH since we saw each other last on February 3rd. A MONTH. Holy majoly.

So what's up with your weekend?

Too much distance to measure it out.

I'm ecstatic about Fridays, it's true.

The weather of rain and cold winds doesn't even make a dent in my happy Friday mood. Work is more lax today, and somebody actually gave me a brownie (score!). I'm meeting up with Keller for lunch at Chop't - my favourite lunchtime eatery. I'm getting my eyes examined because I have two glasses frames that need prescriptions (!!!) and tonight I'll be meeting up with three lovely ladies I graduated high school with in Carlisle, PA. This includes my best friends Amber and Kells.

Plus, today, I'm wearing my fave LAMB cashmere hoodie at work. FANTASTICO!

And last night the loneliness of having both my husband and roommate gone was subsided by the merry trio of Jam, T-Bone, and Mike coming over to watch the two-hour NBC comedy block and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (milksteak!). Jam farted on the couch, lest I miss Jesse's own gassy habits (ugh, thanks). And T-Bone and Mike took the length of two sitcoms to order food. Fun was had, though!

Also, I was quite happy to be awake and out in the world this morning because last night at around 5am I rolled over to find a stuffed cat we keep on the top shelf behind my bed underneath the covers. This stuffed cat has never fallen off the shelf before in the years it's been there, and the real cats can't get up there to knock it off. I may have freaked out a little, and it may be because last weekend Jesse took me to see Paranormal Activity, where all scary things happen while they sleep which is one of my biggest fears.

Yeah, that's a screenshot from the movie. See how there's nothing there but there's a shadow against the door? THAT'S WHY THE MOVIE SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME. And why I may be a little hard pressed to find sleep tonight.

And how is your Friday going?! Anybody else see Paranormal Activity? Let's discuss.

Our weekend starts on Wednesday.

It's Friday! Yay! After work today I'll be heading to Worcester with Keanu in tow to meet up with my family, who are picking up Jesse at the Boston airport. Yeah! Reunion! It's only been five days, and we talk everyday all the time, but...you know...it's like your best friend is gone after months of looking to your side and seeing him stand right there next to you.

Last night, Erica and Eko started their adventure to Connecticut for the weekend, and Keanu and I hung out eating dinner, packing, and snuggling on the couch. Also, we watched this amazing movie, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, which I had wanted to see when it first came out, but never did. I absolutely loved it. It's a true story about a man with Locked-In Syndrome - where a person is totally cognizant of everything going on, but he's paralyzed head-to-toe. He learned to communicate via the only thing he could move - his left eyelid. And he wrote a book. That's all you need to know; go watch it. Has anybody else seen it?

And now, I give you my Friday Playlist. Apparently Damone came out with an album last December, and I did not know. Probably because it was self-released...but I bought it last night and I've been listening. It's okay so far - there are a couple of awesome songs, though different. The first song, which I think is the "single," is quite boresville and should not have been chosen to open an album. Those are just my two cents, though.

This City - The Matches
Distorting a Code - Spinnerette
For You To Notice - Dashboard Confessional (MTV2 Unplugged version)
One Fine Day - The Chiffons
Conquer Me - Damone (kind of Cure-like, current fave song on the album)
Lovefool - The Cardigans (YUP, I listened to this today)
Chinese - Lily Allen
Perfect & True - Ryan Adams
Head On - Pixies
El Scorcho - Weezer

Have a great weekend!